Eat & Art on Lake: a community meal

Event at Moon Palace Books celebrates immigrant and refugee-owned restaurants

By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN

The patio at Moon Palace Books is turning out to be the hot spot in Downtown Longfellow this summer. On Saturday, Aug. 10 from 6-9 p.m, yet another great event is taking place.

Eat & Art on Lake: a community meal, will be held there in celebration of Lake Street’s diverse immigrant and refugee-owned restaurants.

The celebration is the culmination of local illustrator Cori Lyn’s year-long project called, “What We Feed Ourselves,” and a launch for her new book by the same name.

In her project, Lin (who is a neighborhood organizer as well as an artist) explored the nature of food and culture.

She said, “I was interested in learning how immigrant communities feel their ethnic foods are being represented here in Minnesota. I spent time talking with the owners of five restaurants whose food will be served at the community meal: the restaurants are Moroccan Flavors, International Cuisine Bar and Grill, Willo Somali Bakery, Taqueria las Cuatro Milpas, and Gandhi Mahal.

“Through our conversations,” Lin continued, “I learned what the chefs of these restaurants cook and eat at home with their families. I tasted the foods they love, and made watercolor illustrations of several of those dishes. The interviews and watercolors make up my book project, along with personal essays written about food and home by local writers Anniessa Antar, Isela Gomez, Maryan Abdinur, Christian Alberto Ledesma, and Aarohi Narain.”

The event is being hosted by the Lake Street Council and Visit Lake Street. Lake Street Council Executive Drector Allison Sharkey said, “Lake Street has historically been a welcoming place for people new to the Twin Cities to open businesses. We estimate that, over its six mile stretch, more than 65% of Lake Street’s 2,000+ businesses are immigrant-owned.

“This event is a an opportunity to learn about how immigrants and refugees in Minneapolis pass on their food traditions to the next generation, while adapting those food traditions to make a living as restaurant owners serving the broader community. “

Eat and Art on Lake is funded by Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, the City of Minneapolis, Twin Cities LISC, and State Farm Insurance.Moon Palace Books is located at 3032 Minnehaha Ave. There will be a program from 7-7:30 p.m. with comments from the Lake Street Council, artist Cori Lyn, and three short readings from writers featured in the book. Tickets are available for $10 at https://eatartlakestreet.eventbrite.com.

Follow Cori Lin’s work at corilin.co or @cori.lin.art on Instagram.

“It is critical in these times to get out of our homes and get to know our neighbors. We need to be having conversations with each other about what drives people to leave their homes thousands of miles away, and come to Minnesota. Now is also the time to speak out and celebrate the economic contributions of immigrants and refugees throughout our state, and especially in our own neighborhood.”

Allison Sharkey, executive

director of Lake Street Council